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DIY #2: Handbag strap extension

So my second “DIY” was pretty much as easy as my first. But hey, it involved going to Bunnings and making a small purchase, so that’s gotta count right?

I bought this awesome green handbag in Spain (sorry for the appalling picture, I only had the patience to take one shot). I have spent at least 2 years looking for a handbag that is oversized enough to house a laptop, a few books and a water bottle comfortably. My requirements: I don’t like too much structure, don’t like bling, must be silver hardware, must be colour other than black…..doesn’t sound too hard, does it? Trust me it is.

Before purchasing it I spent an inordinate amount of time dithering over whether the shoulder strap was too short to fit comfortably underneath my arm. For some reason, so many of them seem uncomfortably short. Maybe I have a big glenohumeral – axillary distance?

Anyway, eventually I decided I liked enough about the bag that I could live with the length – surely an inch isn’t that much to squabble over. I secretly really hoped I could find some way to lengthen it, even just an inch or two, however.

Luckily attached to the zipper was a long green tassel (full of bling!), that I promptly took off, cut off a few of the tasselly ends and looped them together to make an extra “ring”. Mission accomplished.

Not very pretty, but it did the trick and made the shoulder length perfect. I would have been perfectly content with this solution, however the other day one of the tassels broke, and I started to doubt its stability.

My solution: purchasing a metal clip from Bunnings.

It matches the silver hardware perfectly, and adds even a little more length than the tassel did. I think it looks nicer too. If I really wanted to go nuts I could go back and buy another one for the other side too.